Stand back, Merc's new GT is going racing!

To the impressive list of new GT3 contenders to take the spotlight at the Geneva Motor Show early in March we can add a new name – Mercedes.

These sketches are the first clues as to what the racing version of the Mercedes-AMG GT will look like. A replacement for the SLS GT3, the new racer makes its track debut next year.

And, no prizes for guessing, it will surely spawn the hottest and most focused version of the roadgoing GT yet available. In interviews, AMG bosses have admitted as much. But the what, where, when and how much of the greatest threat yet to the Porsche 911 GT3 are, at this stage, still firmly on the secret list.

We’ve known a new Merc GT3 car was coming for a while, and also that Mercedes bosses are explaining little about it ahead of the Geneva show where the racer will have its world premiere on 3 March.

What we can say categorically is that while there’s not much sexier than a car designer’s racing car sketches, these sketches do hint at a car with tremendous aggression and shapeliness in equal measure, along with all the motor sport purpose you’d expect. That giant fixed rear wing is not just for show…

The new GT3 racer has a great deal to beat. The gullwing SLS track car racked up more than 180 race victories since it first went racing in 2010.

Few will doubt the new car’s ability to do even better, with well over 500bhp from the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 and less weight than the SLS. Apart from anything else, the Mercedes-AMG GT provides a stonking base for a racer. It is certainly one of GRR’s favourite cars – you can remind yourself how good it is in the video of Chris Harris testing it.

The GT3 formula (and marketing cache, one suspects) is proving just as popular away from the racetracks. With other contenders due at Geneva to include an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 and RS version of the Porsche 911 GT3, the hardcore roadgoing sports car has never been in ruder health. That’s a club Mercedes deserves to be part of!